In brewing coffee or similar beverages, each consumer has his or her own taste preferences. In response, as an alternative to traditional multi-cup brewers, there have been efforts to develop brewers that use a single-serve pod. Thus, an individual consumer can brew a single serving of coffee or another beverage, and furthermore, has some flexibility in determining the relative strength of the brewed beverage. When using such a pod, however, the proper positioning of the pod relative to the brew head is important in ensuring the dispensing of a high quality beverage.